Diff’rent Strokes

As square white dads go, Conrad Bain was one of the best. While he had roles in everything from Dark Shadows to The Love Boat to Maude, his most famous part was that of Phillip Drummond, a millionaire widower who adopts African-American brothers Arnold and Willis after their mother passes away on Diff’rent Strokes. Bain himself passed away Monday night at a retirement home in Livermore, California. No further details about the actor’s death have been given. He was 89.

Starring opposite Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges for eight seasons of the wildly successful sitcom, Bain was America’s favorite uncool old dad from 1978 to 1986. “He was an amazing person. He was a lot like Mr. Drummond, but much more interesting in real life. He was an amazing father,” his daughter Jennifer told TMZ. Nice, nerdy and constantly wearing a cozy sweater, Bain always knew what Willis was talking about.